The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two documentary film organizations, asserting how dangerous it is to force individuals to reveal pseudonymous activities related to political or other censored conduct within their home country.
When the Administration announced in 2018 that they would be screening applicants’ social media postings (both randomly and via consent given on application forms) for all identifiers used in the past five years, most lawyers immediately expressed concerns about privacy and security. Now, two organizations have sued to prevent these intrusions into applicants’ private lives without reasonable suspicion of wrongdoing or some other expressed legitimate interest. The lawsuit was filed by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law on behalf of two documentary film organizations. The lawsuit raises concerns about the dangers of forcing people to reveal pseudonymous activities related to political or other censored conduct within their home country.